Children can learn about ecosystems in one of the most meaningful environments that they are in: their own schoolyard. Some of the topics they can work on include searching for and identifying the different animals, birds and insects that inhabit the yard. They could identify where there are differing micro climates within the school area and reason out what environmental factors contribute to these differences. They may also test the soil to check what the pH balance is: whether the soil is acidic or neutral and what plants would thrive in different settings.
Designing and developing a school garden can be another physical geography fieldwork idea. Students can survey the grounds and decide on a suitable location and size of the garden. They will learn how to measure as well as evaluate the physical necessities that plants require such as sunshine, water and the quality of the soil.
This fieldwork idea will help children develop a sense of their own surroundings. A map of the school grounds can be previously created by the teacher and distributed to the students. Old photos of the grounds can also be distributed for viewing. Students can then color or mark different areas on the map that are personal to each person. They may indicate favorite reading spots, play areas or even sites that they like or dislike. Students can then look at the photographs and discuss how the schoolyard has changed since the photos were first taken.
Geography fieldwork ideas can also look to the future. Students can be asked to identify and evaluate where renewable-energy resource-gathering devices could be placed. They could look for areas in the school grounds where the sun beats down hard that would be suitable for solar panels to be installed. Or, consider where on the playground wind tunnels form and whether that could be a suitable place for a wind turbine to be erected.